An explainer has one job: get a reader from confused to clear as quickly as possible. Most take the scenic route. Not because the writer is careless, but because certain sentences feel useful while you’re writing them and turn out to be dead weight when someone reads them.
Here are seven. Search your next draft for them.
1. The dictionary opener
“According to the Oxford Dictionary, inflation is defined as…”
Readers didn’t come for the dictionary. They came for your explanation. Open with what the thing does or why it matters to them. “Inflation is why the same ₹500 buys less each year” beats any formal definition.
2. The history nobody asked for
“The concept dates back to ancient times, when early civilisations…”
Background is useful when it explains the present. If you could delete the history paragraph and the reader would still understand the topic, delete it. Or move it to the end for the curious.
3. The announcement
“In this article, we will explore the various aspects of…”
The reader is already in the article. Start exploring. If you need a roadmap for a long piece, give a short list of what’s covered, not a sentence about the fact that things will be covered.
4. The obvious importance claim
“This is an important topic that affects many people.”
If it’s important, the next sentence should show how. A number, a consequence, a small story. The claim on its own adds nothing, and readers have seen it a thousand times.
5. The hedge stack
“It could perhaps be argued that this may, in some cases, potentially lead to…”
One hedge is honesty. Four is fog. Decide how sure you are and say it once: “This often leads to…” or “This can lead to…”
6. The echo
A point made in paragraph three and again, reworded, in paragraph five. Writers do this for emphasis. Readers experience it as déjà vu. If a point deserves emphasis, give it a better example, not a second appearance.
7. The summary of the summary
“In conclusion, as we have seen throughout this article, …”
A short explainer doesn’t need its ending announced. Finish on the most useful thing: the next step, the one caveat, or the single line you want remembered.
How to find them quickly
You don’t need to read with a red pen for an hour. Try this:
- Search for the usual openers: “in this article”, “it is important”, “according to”, “in conclusion”.
- Read only the first sentence of each paragraph. If two say the same thing, you’ve found an echo.
- Look at your first 100 words. Where does the actual explaining start? Cut everything before it.
When a sentence is worth keeping but clumsy, rewrite it rather than delete it. If you’re stuck, a paraphrasing tool will give you a few tighter versions to choose from. Check that the meaning hasn’t shifted, particularly in technical explanations where one changed word can make a statement wrong.
What to keep
Cutting is not the same as stripping. Keep:
- Examples. One concrete case does more than three abstract sentences.
- Definitions of terms you’ll actually use. In your words, not the dictionary’s.
- The “so what”. Why should the reader care today?
- Honest limits. “This is a simplification” is a useful sentence.
A worked example
Before, 61 words:
“In today’s world, cloud storage has become an increasingly important topic. According to various definitions, cloud storage refers to a model in which data is stored on remote servers. In this article, we will explore how it works. It is important to note that many people use cloud storage every day without realising it.”
After, 28 words:
“Cloud storage means your files live on someone else’s computers and reach you over the internet. If you use Gmail or Google Photos, you’re already using it.”
Less than half the length, and the reader knows more by the end of it.
That’s the whole trick. An explainer isn’t judged by how much it says. It’s judged by how soon the reader understands.
